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Contented Reading

Happy woman with a large smile in a plaid shirt reading a book in a field

Ever since I started blogging and sharing content on Instagram, God has been transforming my reading and, more importantly, my mind and heart.

While aspects of this journey have been sobering and on the more serious side, I wanted to focus on what has been positive for me and what has brought me joy.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” - Theodore Roosevelt (source)

I thought I'd share this quote at the onset because I can see how true this is on social media and in life. It's easy to get discouraged at seeing what other people are doing and how we stack up. For me, I've had to tune out some of the noise that comes from other people and their successes. It's not to say that I don't celebrate other people's victories, but I can see how if I am too fixated on it, it can lead me to feeling like a failure. Avoiding comparison where I can has been instrumental in allowing me to focus on joy and contentment instead.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." - 1 Timothy 6:6

I want to become a person who is filled with God's joy and contentment, just as Paul says in Philippians 4:11, where he has "learned to be content whatever the circumstances." Of course, this is easier said than done. There are some things in my life that I'm more content with than others, and for the things that I'm still struggling with, I need God's grace. How, then, does this connect to my reading?

Well, first of all, I have learned to be content being in God's Word. Reading other books is nice but there have been many years in my life where I sought contentment in books instead of turning to the Bible. The Clearly Christian Readathon has really pushed me to not miss a day in the Word and I am thankful for this new habit. I'm delighted that my heart has shifted from seeing this as a checklist item to craving time with God first thing in the morning.

Second, I am so much more content reading from the Christian books that I've been blessed to accumulate over the years. For the longest time, I thought I had to be widely read in all types of books. I read secular fiction so that I wouldn't be left out of conversations or so that I wouldn't be seen as irrelevant. Now, I see a lot of this as a distraction for myself. It's not to say that I won't ever read a secular fiction book (especially as I do want to work through the classics I own!), or that others shouldn't, but it's a lot of work to keep up and my interest has waned significantly. I can't invest the time into some of these books, notably the ones that look copiously long, and still get everything else done. On a pragmatic level, I need to prioritize my reading so that I can still live life.

Third, I am filled with joy at discovering how many people care about what they're reading. While I do run into frustrations from being on Instagram, the reading community has been encouraging and supportive. I've made some great like-minded friends and I love getting to pray for others. While books may have been the conversation starter, Jesus is the reason the conversations are continuing. I am thrilled at what a blessing this has become.

I don't know if there's a final point as I don't want to cap off joy, but I will say that God is teaching me something new every day. Whether it's through the books I'm reading or spending time in His presence or something else, I am incredibly thankful for all the ways that He is teaching me. Reading has been a source of joy for most of my life, and it is definitely a vehicle in which I feel closest to God. While reading will never and should never replace the full joy I have in Christ, I'm amazed at how God can use it for His glory. I love that I get to encounter His truths in the creative workings of a fiction writer and I love being able to plumb the depths of knowledge through non-fiction writers. Reading really does open doors and minds to all manner of possibilities, making me a very contented reader indeed.
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